Spotlight: Meredith College GreenBelt

By Melyssa Allen, published in October 2009 Nutshell

Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai’s visit to Meredith has made a lasting impact on the campus. Meredith students planted a Green Belt on the College grounds in honor of Maathai’s life work and her visit to Meredith.

Each student enrolled in First Year Experience had the opportunity to plant a tree, arranged on campus in arboretum-style and botanically interesting groupings, resulting in the planting of over 350 trees.

The Green Belt Movement Maathai established has helped to restore Kenya’s indigenous forests and involved women in sustainable agriculture. She is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. She and the Green Belt Movement have received numerous awards, most notably the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.

While on campus, Maathai contributed to the Green Belt by planting a magnolia tree between Johnson Hall and Joyner Hall. She praised Meredith’s tree planting effort, noting that her Green Belt Movement had planted 7 billion trees worldwide since 2006.

Meredith’s Green Belt project was “a wonderful opportunity that allows you to make a direct contribution to the environment,” said Kayley Hake, ’12, an FYE student assistant who participated in planting the green belt.

“It is great to do this at Meredith because as we progress through college, we can watch our tree grow,” Hake added.

The trees included in the Green Belt are surrounding the greenway walking trail that crosses the front of Meredith’s campus. The new trees, which are supplementing those planted earlier by the Grounds Department, are being planted in groupings designed to be attractive, interesting and educational by including different types of the same tree species in order to show the contrasts between them.

The Meredith Green Belt tree planting was a partnership of the Office for First Year Experience, the Office of Student Leadership and Service, the Sustainability Office, and the Grounds Department of Facilities Services.

 

Spotlight: Women’s Leadership Summit Goes Green

By Melyssa Allen, published in September 2009 Nutshell

Spotlight: “Think Green” at Meredith

By Melyssa Allen, published in May 2009 Nutshell

Spotlight: Book Sale Keeps Books Out of Trash

By Melyssa Allen, published in April 2009 Nutshell

Pilot Project in Admissions Leads to New Recycling Program

By Stefanie Gregory, ’09, published in April 2009 Nutshell

 

Spotlight: National Teach-In Panel

By Stefanie Gregory, ’09, published in March 2009 Nutshell

Spotlight: Meredith Volunteers Conduct Trash Audit

By Melyssa Allen, published in February 2009 Nutshell.

Spotlight: The Three Sisters Garden

By Melyssa Allen, published in December 2008 Nutshell.

Spotlight: School of the Arts

By Melyssa Allen, published in November 2008 Nutshell.

Spotlight: Office of Admissions

By Melyssa Allen, published in October 2008 Nutshell.

Editor’s Note: The Sustainability Spotlight will be a regular feature in “In A Nutshell.” Faculty and staff members who have sustainability efforts to share may email them to allenme@meredith.edu for consideration for a future issue.